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Golden-eyed giant
The Enigmatic Giant is a character who only appears in the second book of the first series, The Lake of Tears. Synopsis The giant was originally a large bird that tried and failed to kill Thaegan via deception, with the intent of saving a friend. Thaegan cursed him, transforming the creature into a huge, tan skined man with a pointed nose, golden eyes, and large, curved sword. He is forced to guard a bridge into her territory, asking passersby riddles and allowing only those who are correct to continue, killing those who fail. He must do this until “truth and lies become one”. The Giant is encountered by Lief, Barda, and Jasmine early in their search for the Ruby. The Giant questions first questions Jasmine by laying eleven sticks on the ground and telling her to “Change eleven to nine, without removing any sticks.” She solves the problem by arranging the sticks so that they spell the word “nine”. When she crosses the bridge, the Giant bars Lief and Barda from doing the same, informing them that only one may pass at a time. Barda tells Jasmine to go on and the Giant decides to question him next. Barda’s riddle is “What is it that a beggar has, that a rich man needs, and that the dead eat?” with Barda answering “Nothing,” after some thought. With Lief left alone, the Giant gives him his riddle in the form of a long, complicated rhyme, which, “to be fair”, he says twice: :Sorceress Thaegan'' eats her'' favorite food :In her cave with all of her brood '' :''And their names are ::Hot, Tot, Jin, Jod, :Fie, Fly, Zan, Zod, :Pik, Snik, Lun, Lod :And the dreaded Ichabod. :Each child holds a slimy toad. :On each toad squirm two fat grubs. :On each grub ride two fleas brave. :How many living in Thaegan’s cave? Lief (who had been taught math at the forge) confidently adds up the numbers: 13 children, 13 toads, 26 grubs, and 52 fleas, totaling 104. Lief catches himself just before answering, and adds Thaegan herself, making 105. The Giant, however, informs him that the correct answer is 106; Thaegan had swallowed a live raven. Lief protests, saying that that was not in the rhyme, but the Giant claims that live raven is her favorite food and that “What you know or do not know is not my concern.” Lief, trying to buy enough time to throw the Belt of Deltora to safety, insults the Giant, claiming that he deserved his fate for being a trickster. The Giant, angered, decides to play one last “game” with Lief, with the following rules: Lief may say one, and only one thing. If it is true, the Giant will strangle him. If it is false, he will behead him. Lief answers that “My head will be cut off,” creating a paradox and making “truth and lies one”. The Giant is freed of his curse and restored to his true form, a bird, and he flies away. As Lief crosses the bridge, it collapses, but the restored bird catches him in thanks. He flies off, and is not seen afterward. This last incident is omitted in the anime. Riddles The Giant is known for asking riddles of travelers hoping to cross his bridge. When faced by Lief, Barda, and Jasmine, he gives each a separate riddle. *The first riddle, answered by Jasmine, is started when the Giant places eleven sticks on the ground, asking her to "Change eleven to nine, without breaking or adding any sticks." She arranges them as to spell the word "nine", and successfully passes the bridge. *Barda is asked "What is it that beggars have, that the rich need, and that the dead eat?" for the second riddle. Barda answers "Nothing" and crosses the bridge. *Lief's riddle is in the form of a long rhyme (above), which the Giant says twice to be fair. The correct answer is 106; 13 children, 13 toads, 26 grubs, 52 fleas, Thaegan herself, and a live raven in Thaegan's gut (though the Giant omits the last one, assuming that it is common knowledge). *After Lief fails to answer his riddle correctly, the Giant tells him to make one last statement: if it is true, he will strangle Lief with his bare hands, if it is false, he will cut off Lief's head. Lief says that his head will be cut off, creating a paradox; if the Giant cuts off his head, the statement will be true, which will mean that the Giant must strangle him, but if the Giant strangles him, Lief's head must be cut off for the false statement. This makes "truth and lies one" and frees the Giant of his curse. In the anime, because of language and other differences, the riddles are significantly altered. He shrieks in pain and frustration when the riddles are solved and each question has a time limit, in the form of a large hourglass the Giant summons by snapping his fingers. Only the Giant's last "game" with Lief is unchanged. *Jasmine's riddle is to take five sticks and, without removing any of them, make three. She does so in the same manner as her book version solves her riddle, arranging the sticks into the shape of a calculator-stlye number 3. The Giant asks this question to the group as a whole as opposed to Jasmine alone, but neither Lief nor Barda have a clue as to the answer. *Barda's question is completely different. He is shown five wooden tablets with a different, strange symbol on each and is told to arrange them in order. Barda is frustrated and stumped until he sees his sword's reflection in a nearby puddle. He cuts the tablets in two with his sword, revealing that they were the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 combined with their mirror image. With the tablets now numbering ten total, Barda is allowed to pass. *Lief's riddle is still a rhyme, but it is now sung by the giant only once. The rhyme is also altered slightly. It is: :Sorceress Thaegan gulps her favorite food :In her cave with all her brood. :And the names﻿ of her children are: :Hot, Tot, Jin, Jod, :Fie, Fly, Zan, Zod, Pik, Snik, :Lun, Lod and of course the dreaded Ichabod. :Each child holds a slimy toad, :On each toad squirms two fat grubs, :On each grub rides two fleas brave. :Here's my riddle and so beware, :Answer this riddle now if you dare. :How many things are living in Thaegan's cave? Lief repeats the song to himself, adding up the same numbers as in the book. He initially gives the answer 104, but takes it back and adds Thaegan, revising his answer as 105. He is wrong for the same reason as his old book-self; Thaegan had eaten a live crow, which the Giant claims he should have known already. Trivia * In the anime, the Giant eyes are on either side of his head and he always looks ahead with his head tilted, one eye facing forward, in much the same way as birds do. * The English translation of the Japanese Anime version of the riddle is: Witch Tegan has a pot; And she cooks children in it; The names of the children are; Mato, Toto, Jini; Jito, Freni, Brini; Zano, Soto, Pikani, Sunik, Rani, Roto; And the last one has a gift; The frog time the children; Two worms times them both; Two fleas times the grubs; Now, now, how many things are in Tegan's pot?'' * Lief's riddle might be based on "'''As I was going to St Ives" published in c. 1730 Category:Characters Category:Monsters Category:Minor Characters